(no subject)

[naath]

Bicycle Insurance:

I have my shinyshiny bike insured with cyclecover (http://www.cyclecover.org.uk/) when I recently hit a wall at speed evading a car and thoroughly trashed the frame I claimed on this insurance in a hopeful sort of way. I sent a few emails, filled in a short form (name, policy number, how much are you claiming? why are you claiming it?), photocopied some bank statements, printed some photos & posted all that stuff off and today I have 800 quid in my bank account from them (and I haven't had to pay out for the repair yet; and I got to pick my preferred repair people).

I recommend these insurers as being insurers who actually pay out money in settlement of claims rather than arguing with you about whether they actually agreed to ever pay you any money and as being competent with email communication (I didn't have to phone them). Unfortunately I can't recommend them as being cheap; my insurance policy costs 10% of the cost of the bike annually although I expect this is mostly to do with the high risk of bike thievery in Cambridge.

Comments

[lethargic_man]

As a matter of interest, not having owned a bike of the value of yours myself, can you tell me what are the advantages of a ≥ £800 bike for commuting over a £300 hybrid?

[naath]

The shinyshiny bike cost me rather more than that; the frame is the only part that was substantially damaged and is suffering the 800 pound repair bill (well, 600 pound repair bill plus the labour to get all the other parts off and on plus shipping it to Leeds and back).

The advantages are essentially that it is exactly the bike I have always wanted. I do not advise other people to buy one just like it unless they share my eccentric tastes in bikes. Over a very cheap bike things like "the components are durable and repairable" and "it doesn't weigh half as much as me" are possibly important.

I intend to use it for longer distance touring and audax riding as well as commuting around Cambridge.

That's weird…

[(Anonymous)]

I've never heard of bike insurance in NYC; if there were such a thing, it might be one thing that would get me to ride.

Riding here is pretty much at-your-own-risk, and that includes all the other risks, like getting "doored" and run over by trucks (lorries.)

Re: That's weird…

[naath]

I've not previously had insurance for my bike because previous bikes have all been cheap enough that I would have been able to replace them had they been stolen or written off in a crash; this one is rather more valuable.

The risk of being hit by a someone operating a vehicle without due care and attention can not be removed by insurance of course.

Re: That's weird…

[lnr.livejournal.com]

I have theft insurance through my household insurer - which is a lot cheaper than naath's specialist insurance. I'm not sure if I'm covered for damage though - I'd have to check the policy. Bikes here get stolen often enough that it's worth it to me to insure against it - even though I'm careful about locking it.

In the UK damage from motorised vehicles would be covered by the compulsory 3rd party insurance of the driver - though of course you do need to get them to stop and give you their insurance details! That should probably be the case with a dooring too, though that is less clear.

[alitalf.livejournal.com]

That's good, though very sad about the accident. My bicycle is not valuable enough to be worth insuring, and I've been too ill to try cycling for a while, so not directly relevant. However, it is good to know of a financial company not acting like a bunch of bandits!

I hope you weren't injured in the collision? Brick walls are so much tougher than humans.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a sufficiently expensive bike that this repair would really have been hard to fund; for cheaper bikes self-insuring is much better.

I was fine; slightly grazed knees and a little shaken, but nothing lasting.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Self-insuring? Do you mean simply being prepared to fork out very occasionally, as it works out cheaper than having the bike insured per likelihood of need, as I do? (My main bike cost under £300, my spare bike under £100 and my Berlin bike €30.)

[naath.livejournal.com]

Yes; being prepared to pay costs yourself to fix problems as-and-when. It's obviously cheaper-on-average because insurance companies make a prophet and pay staff and stuff. But if the costs are too high then maybe the risk is too big.

The other other option is to say "well, I don't really need this so if it breaks I won't have one anymore" but I can't do that for my main transport solution.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

How much are you paying annually? When I insured my Brompton it was about 100 a year...

[atreic.livejournal.com]

Ah, I have seen you have already sort of answered this, and it is still 10% of the cost of the bike. Apologies for inability to read!

[naath.livejournal.com]

300 (pain)